[stylist] Article on Braille in Cumberland, MD paper doesn't mention the coin or NFB
Donna Hill
penatwork at epix.net
Wed Apr 15 16:32:25 UTC 2009
Hi Friends,
Here's an article which at least has some information about Braille's
usefullness, but no mention of the NFB. The writer's e-mail is at the
bottom. I have sent her my comments.
Donna Hill
Life doesn’t stop because you lose your eyesight
http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_103233036.html
Learning Braille still encouraged, despite advances in technology
Kristin Harty
Cumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — Daisy Hetz thought her life was over when she lost her
sight on Jan. 1, 2008.
“I sat around the house and moped and felt sorry for myself until August
11 of that year,” said Hetz, 58, who has glaucoma and diabetes. “I’ve
been in
school ever since.”
On Monday, Hetz demonstrated for a small audience at the South
Cumberland Library how to write Braille letters, punching indentations
into paper using
a pointed tool called a ‘stylist.’
The event was to mark the 200th birthday of Louie Braille, a Frenchman
who invented the alphabet of raised dots when he was just 16.
Hetz and several other clients from Blind Industries and Services of
Maryland gave demonstrations at Monday’s event.
“You can learn Braille yourself if you’d like to,” said Roger
Williamson, rehabilitation specialist, passing out cards with the
Braille alphabet. “The
little indentations or holes in the cell, that represents a particular
letter.”
Widely used around the world since the 1950s, Braille isn’t as popular
as it used to be. A recent report by the National Federation of the
Blind indicates
that just 10 percent of blind children are learning Braille.
“What happens is people have the talking computers,” said Williamson,
who encourages anyone who loses their sight to learn at least some
Braille. “People
can listen. There’s books on tape and digital books and all that stuff.”
Marlene Taccino is trying to learn everything she can on the computer
before she loses her sight completely. A Cumberland resident, she has
glaucoma.
“I’m nervous on the computer,” said Taccino, who is taking classes
through Blind Industries and Services. “I love typing, but I get
nervous. I’m writing
sentences. I did my phone number today.”
For some situations, though, audio technology simply isn’t sufficient,
Williamson said.
“We want our older people, if they live alone, to be able to identify
things,” he said. “Maybe their CDs or their medications or even create
labels for
their canned foods, packaged foods.”
Hetz is forging ahead on both fronts, learning computer skills and
practicing Braille.
“Life don’t stop because you lose your eyesight,” said Hetz, who has
learned how to cook and walk with a cane through Blind Industries and
Services. “It’s
not easy, but there’s always ways you can go around.”
Eleven-year-old Anna Mudge thought Braille looked pretty difficult to learn.
“I can do my name in sign language,” said Mudge, who came to Monday’s
presentation with her mother and four siblings, all home schooled.
She signed her name.
“I learned it at church and at school because I think it was one of my
brothers who had the sign language pictures in his book, so we kind of
took his
book and tried to learn our names,” Anna said.
Nine-year-old Elizabeth Mudge watched as Hetz wrote her name in Braille.
“Elizabeth — that’s a long one,” said Hetz, explaining that she writes
the letters backward so that they appear in the proper order when the
indentations
are turned to face up.
“It’s hard,” Hetz said. “I’m still learning.”
Elizabeth, baffled, said she didn’t think she could master Braille.
“Huh uh,” she said. “I just don’t think so.”
Contact Kristin Harty at
kharty at times-news.com .
--
Read my articles on American Chronicle:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3885
For my bio & to hear clips from The Last Straw:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
Apple I-Tunes
phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374
Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind
www.padnfb.org
E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (6.0.0.386)
Database version: 5.12180
http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/
More information about the Stylist
mailing list